10-06-2010, 11:10 AM
Gov. Bill Ritter today praised a new $450,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a state program that leases land from eastern Colorado farm and ranch owners who provide hunters access to private wildlife habitat.
Gov. Ritter said the grant will help the Colorado Division of Wildlife expand and improve the popular Small Game Walk-In Access Program, which this year will provide pheasant and small game hunters access to more than 330 square miles of leased private lands across 22 eastern Colorado counties this year.
"Colorado's rural landowners are the proud stewards of some of our state's best wildlife habitat," Ritter said. "I applaud the USDA's strong support for a Colorado program that has been a win-win for landowners and hunters alike."
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Monday that Colorado was one of 17 states that will split $11.76 million from the USDA's Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program. The program, part of the 2008 Farm Bill, encourages landowners to improve habitat and access for public hunting, angling and wildlife watching on their private land.
The DOW has submitted a request for additional funding from the two-year grant program.
The Small Game Walk-In Access Program, currently in its 10th year, focuses on enrolling private lands in Colorado's core pheasant range east of I-25. Last year the DOW sold 8,500 walk-in access permits to adults and issued another 1,100 to youths.
In January 2010, the Wildlife Commission dropped the requirement for hunters to purchase a Walk-In Access permit to help remove barriers to the recruitment of new hunters. This allows hunters with a valid small game license free access to the 214,000 acres of private land in the program this fall. Colorado's pheasant season opens on Nov. 13.
"Our Walk-In Access Program is tremendously popular with landowners and hunters alike," said DOW Director Tom Remington. "This funding will make it even better."
DOW Small Game Manager Ed Gorman said that starting in 2011 the funds will help the Walk-In Access Program expand the number of acres enrolled and improve the quality of habitat provided in the program, including lands enrolled in the USDA's Conservation Reserve Program.
"This will let us offer additional access incentives for landowners who improve lands accessible to hunters by managing for better grasses, more forbs, planting food plots and implementing a variety of other habitat improvements," Gorman said. "And that means more
s in more fields for more Colorado small game hunters."
DOW will deliver the expanded program via cooperative purchase agreements with local community groups and with existing staff.
Hunters can find out which lands are available through the Small Game Walk-In Access Program by picking up copies of the Walk-In Access Atlas and the 2010 Late Cropland Supplemental Atlas, which will be available at approximately 800 locations within the state of Colorado, including DOW offices, sporting goods and general purpose stores and other partnering locations.
More information on the DOW's Small Game Walk-In Access Program, as well as an electronic copy of the Walk-In Access Atlas can be found at:
http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/Smal...kInAccess/
For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.
Gov. Ritter said the grant will help the Colorado Division of Wildlife expand and improve the popular Small Game Walk-In Access Program, which this year will provide pheasant and small game hunters access to more than 330 square miles of leased private lands across 22 eastern Colorado counties this year.
"Colorado's rural landowners are the proud stewards of some of our state's best wildlife habitat," Ritter said. "I applaud the USDA's strong support for a Colorado program that has been a win-win for landowners and hunters alike."
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Monday that Colorado was one of 17 states that will split $11.76 million from the USDA's Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program. The program, part of the 2008 Farm Bill, encourages landowners to improve habitat and access for public hunting, angling and wildlife watching on their private land.
The DOW has submitted a request for additional funding from the two-year grant program.
The Small Game Walk-In Access Program, currently in its 10th year, focuses on enrolling private lands in Colorado's core pheasant range east of I-25. Last year the DOW sold 8,500 walk-in access permits to adults and issued another 1,100 to youths.
In January 2010, the Wildlife Commission dropped the requirement for hunters to purchase a Walk-In Access permit to help remove barriers to the recruitment of new hunters. This allows hunters with a valid small game license free access to the 214,000 acres of private land in the program this fall. Colorado's pheasant season opens on Nov. 13.
"Our Walk-In Access Program is tremendously popular with landowners and hunters alike," said DOW Director Tom Remington. "This funding will make it even better."
DOW Small Game Manager Ed Gorman said that starting in 2011 the funds will help the Walk-In Access Program expand the number of acres enrolled and improve the quality of habitat provided in the program, including lands enrolled in the USDA's Conservation Reserve Program.
"This will let us offer additional access incentives for landowners who improve lands accessible to hunters by managing for better grasses, more forbs, planting food plots and implementing a variety of other habitat improvements," Gorman said. "And that means more
s in more fields for more Colorado small game hunters." DOW will deliver the expanded program via cooperative purchase agreements with local community groups and with existing staff.
Hunters can find out which lands are available through the Small Game Walk-In Access Program by picking up copies of the Walk-In Access Atlas and the 2010 Late Cropland Supplemental Atlas, which will be available at approximately 800 locations within the state of Colorado, including DOW offices, sporting goods and general purpose stores and other partnering locations.
More information on the DOW's Small Game Walk-In Access Program, as well as an electronic copy of the Walk-In Access Atlas can be found at:
http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/Smal...kInAccess/
For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.